Maximum Ride: The Musical
by streco
Summary: You wanna talk about what happened? I asked Gazzy, concerned. Yeah... he replied. It was weird. We all burst into song... [What if MR were a musical? Features Wicked, RENT, Avenue Q, Aida, Chicago, Spring Awakening, Cabaret, Joseph, your suggestions! XD]
1. Act I: What Is This Feeling?

1_Maximum Ride: The Musical_

**A/N: **So, gang, you know how I love musicals?

Wellll. I've decided to put my two faveys together. I bring you... Maximum Ride: The Musical!

Summary: So we all know how much Max and Max II hate each other. Pre-MR3.

— —

**What Is This Feeling?**

_Max and Max II_

Being locked in a cage never sucked more.

Total and I had been captured. _Captured_. Such an abstract word. No... we'd been... pursued? Attacked? Yeah, that sounded better. Attacked. Looking over at the _thing _next to me; there stood Max II, her brown eyes piercing my head. Of course. Identical—we were so identical. Except... she was stupider than I. And she was lame. And dumb. And had an annoying voice.

Or was that my voice that was annoying? I wasn't sure anymore, all I knew was that being locked in a cell with a carbon copy of myself and a talking dog wasn't doing wonders for my schizophrenic self, and that was _not _Dandy for me.

A smug little grin on her face, Max II looked forward out of the cell bars. "Dearest darlingest Momsie and Popsicle," she began, and I'll assume that she meant the dynamic duo of death—Anne and Jeb.

I mocked her. "My dear flock."

We looked at each other and then mimed writing some more. "There's been some confusion over rooming here at School..." I studied our surroundings.

"But of course, I'll care for Total," I added, putting a little flourish in my fake writing. If I had really been writing a note like this and it had gotten to the flock, they'd laugh their bottoms off, and probably not take me seriously. 'But of course, I'll care for Total'? I sounded like some sort of droid.

"But of course, I'll riiiiiiiise above it," Maxie Dearest added.

"For I know that's how you'd want me to respond," we looked at each other disapprovingly again, "yes..." we added. "There's been some confusion, for you see my roommate is..." and once again we studied each other, trying to find the perfect way to describe our photocopy. _Stupid, lame_...

"Unuuuuuusually and exceedingly pecuuuuuuuuliar and altogether quite impoooooooossible to descriiiiiiiiiibe..." she drew her vowels out far too much, making her sound like a total ditzy cheerleader moron. Yeah... no. This was not going over well with the Maxinator, let me tell you.

So, as I looked at her, I came to one conclusion. "Blonde." Okay, maybe in the literal sense, but also in the stereotypical sense... she was such an idiot that it wasn't even funny. Well, maybe it was funny. But—you're missing the point.

"What is this feeling, so sudden and new?" Max II asked, glaring at me.

"I felt the moment I laid eyes on you," I agreed.

"My pulse is rushing—" she began, looking at her hands.

"My head is reeling—" I added.

"My face is flushing—"

"What is this feeling?" I joined her, and together we sang. "Fervid as a flame, does it have a name?" We paused, and I looked at the ground thoughtfully. "Yes.." and she went up an octave, making it sound positively spiffy. "Loathing—unadulterated loathing!" We agreed on this wonderful word of hatred between each other.

"For your face—"

"Your voice—"

"Your clothing!"

Okay, so technically our face is the same, bad on her part, but her voice was slightly different and my clothes were torn and different from hers. "Let's just say—I loathe it all! Every little trait, however small, makes my very flesh begin to crawl; with simple utter loathing, there's a strange exhilaration in such total detestation—it's so pure, so strong!" We started circling each other. "Though I do admit it came on fast, still I do believe that it can last, and I will be loathing, loathing you my whole life long!"

Suddenly, out of freaking nowhere, Erasers were dancing and doing choreographed dance moves in front of the cell bars, like they were from West Side Story or something. "Dear Max II, oh, you are just too good—how do you stand it? I don't think I could! She' s a terror, she's a tartar, we don't mean to show a bias; but Max II, oh, you're a martyr!" They exclaimed, gushing over her.

"Well..." Maxie began thoughtfully, and then shot a glance at me. "These things are sent to tryyyyy us!"

"Poor Max II is forced to reside with someone so disgusticified—we just want to tell you; we're all on your side! We share your loathing!"

"What is this feeling, so sudden and new? I felt the moment I laid eyes on you. My pulse is rushing, my head is reeling—"

"We loathe it all!" shouted the Erasers.

"Oh, what is this feeling?" The Erasers continued to sing in time with us. "Does it have a name—yes... ahhhhh! Loathing, there's a strange exhilaration in such total detestation—it's so pure, so strong! Though I do admit it came on fast, still I do believe that it will last... and I will be loathing, for forever loathing, truly, deeply loathing you..."

We looked at each other. Damn, did we hate each other so much. And damn, did that not bother me one bit.

"MY WHOLE LIFE LONG!"

And then we were next to each other, grinning about our hatred, and then I shouted, "BOO!" and Max II jumped about a foot in the air, squeaking.

Score one for the Maxinator.

**A/N:** I heard this song as I was rereading MR3 and I needed to do this.

New project; like it or no? I need ideas for songs! (:

–Steph


	2. Schadenfreude

1**A/N:** Somebody asked me if I was honestly going to incorporate Avenue Q in here and... yes. (: In this chapter. Iggy and Gazzy make a wonderful appearance... XD

LANGUAGE ALERT! Language is not going easy on this story... its sorta a parody. They're all going to be way OOC, so deal with it.

— —

**Schadenfreude**

_Iggy and the Gasman_

The Gasman had never felt so down in his young life, and he didn't even know _why_. When he woke up, he didn't feel like he was eight. He felt like he was ten thousand years old, and the weight of the world was on his shoulders. He tried to confide in Max, but she started cracking up and then said, "Welcome to puberty, kid."

Pfft. Or at least that's what he told _me_.

To me, it sounded like a load of bullcrap, but whatever. Gazzy did _not _have the world on his shoulders. If anyone did, it was Max—no, it was ME. Because I'm always relied on for stuff like bombs and things like that... and I'm _blind!_

Navigating blindly (haha, that's so funny, isn't it?) to the kitchen, I sensed him sitting down, and I walked over and sat down next to him. I didn't like seeing (haha, not literally. Isn't that funny?) him down like this—Gazzy was always happy, always my partner in crime. So, I decided I'd make him feel better by singing. "Right now you are down and out and feeling really crappy," I basically asked him, nodding.

The vibes he gave off were kind of confused, but I felt him nod. "I'll say."

"And when I see how sad you are, it sort of makes me..." I grinned wickedly and turned my face to look (not really) at his. "Happy!"

"Happy?!" he asked, incredulous.

"Sorry, Gazzy, human nature—there's nothing I can do... it's schadenfreude! Making me feel glad that I'm not you," I sang to him, honestly. Everybody felt this way, it was true. You can't honestly tell me that when you see someone sad, you think, _damn, thank God I'm not them_.

"Well that's not very nice, Iggy!" Gazzy whirled on me.

"I didn't say it was nice... but everybody does it!" I mused. "Didja ever clap when a waitress falls and drops a tray of glasses?" I asked him, and I knew full well that he had—one specific night at a restaurant flashed back to me, hearing the smash and then Gazzy standing up and clapping for this woman.

"Yeah..." he replied, and I knew he was grinning.

"And ain't it fun to watch"_—not in my case_—"figure skaters falling on their asses?"

"Sure!" he exclaimed.

"And don't'cha feel all warm and cozy watching people out in the rain?" _Not really in my case_...

"You bet!" Gazzy shouted.

"That's..."

"Schadenfreude!" We sang the word together, evil. When he stopped, I added, "People taking pleasure in your pain."

"Schadenfreude, huh?" he asked, and I could picture him stroking a fake goatee. "What's that, some kinda Nazi word?"

"Yep," I smiled. "It's German for 'happiness at the misfortune of others.'"

"'Happiness at the misfortune of others...'" he repeated, thinking hard. "That _is _German!" Then, clapping his hands together, I felt him stare at me. "Watching a vegetarian being told she just ate chicken." Hahaha, Nudge! So many times that had happened to Nudge and we had just laughed and laughed.

"Or," Max was going to _kill _me for this, "watching a frat boy realize just what he put his dick in!"

Gazzy didn't miss a beat. "Being on the elevator when somebody shouts, 'Hold the door!'"

"Oh yeah—NO!" we screeched, "Schadenfreude!"

"Fuck you, lady, that's what stairs are for!" I added thoughtfully, full knowing Max was going to have my head for this... but oh well. 

"Ooh—how about... straight A-students getting Bs?"

"Exes getting STDs!"

"Waking doormen from their naps!"

"Watching tourists reading maps!

"Football players getting tackled!"

"CEOs getting shackled!"

"Watching actors never reach—"

I joined him on this one, smiling and thinking of this scenario, "The ending of their Oscar speech! Schadenfreude! Schadenfreude! Schadenfreude! Schadenfreude!" We danced awkwardly.

"The world needs people like you and me," I mused, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "Who've been knocked around by fate." That was damn sure. "'Cause when people see us, they don't want to be us—and that makes them feel great!"

"Sure!" Gazzy agreed. "We provide a vital service to society!"

"You and me," We sang together. "Schadenfreude! Making the world a better place, making the world a better place, making the world a better place... to be!"

For the big finale, I jumped off the table and, loudly, shouted, "S-C-H-A-D-E-N-F-R-E-U-D-E!"

But suddenly, Fang ran into the room, I could just tell by his footsteps, and he said frantically, "Max isn't here."

**A/N: **OOOOOOOH!

I was overwhelmed by the number of reviews—I forgot there were so many on MR! And, yeah, I threatened to leave... but I'm back!

Just one review I want to respond to; **Aviator301**—yeah... okayyyy... it wasn't really constructive criticism; more like... a suggestion and saying you weren't sure if you liked it? And I'm only doing show tunes, so sorry I couldn't use your recommendation. And yeah, I, _um_, know it's '_um, _different', so... you didn't have to say it like that. (:

Anyway—review! Next chapter is just how Max got captured.

–Steph.


	3. March of the Witch Hunters

1This is a flashback—before Max was in the cell with Max II.

— —

**March of the Witch Hunters**

_Ari and the Erasers_

"Go and hunt her, and find her, and kill her!"

The Erasers were marching together, stalking toward where they knew the flock was going to be. They'd found her. They knew where she was, and now they were going to kill her. Grinning to himself, Eraser fangs sticking out, Ari laughed darkly. "Good fortune, Witch Hunters!" shouted a female Eraser from behind him, snarling.

Witch. That was what they called her; a Witch, because that's what she _was _to everyone. "Go and hunt her, and find her, and kill her!"

"Kill the Witch!" another Eraser screamed from behind him.

"Wickedness must be punished, evil effectively eliminated. Wickedness must be punished—kill the Witch!" they sang together, marching.

Clapping his hands together and turning around, the marching ceased. "And this is more than just a service to the Master," he motioned to his ear, where his earpiece was connected to that of the Director, the Head Honcho, the Master. "I have a personal score to settle with Ma—" he stumbled over her name. "With the Witch!" Then, he pulled down the chain collar he was wearing.

The Erasers gasped—they'd known that Max had tried to kill Ari, but they didn't know his neck was now made of metal. "It's due to her I'm made of tin, her fight made this occur! So for once I'm glad I'm heartless—I'll be heartless killing her!" His blood boiled with hatred and he motioned to Total, struggling in a younger Eraser's arms. "And the Scottie also has a grievance to repay—if she'd let him fight his own battles when he was young, he wouldn't be a coward today!"

Furious screams rose up from the crowd of Erasers. "Kill her!" "Kill the Witch!"

Together, they charged the hill where Max was alone, trying to clear her head as always. As Ari approached from behind, he knew she was talking to her Voice. But how could she not hear hi—

"Thought you could sneak up on me, eh?" she snarled, jumping up and gripping my neck... but her eyes widened when Ari pressed the side of his thumb and a shock went up her arm and through her body—his neck brace radiated off electricity when it wanted to... and it didn't effect him.

Her body fell to the ground, awkward and crooked, and Ari smiled and picked her limp frame up.

Behind him, the Erasers continued to sing. "Wickedness must be punished. Brave Witch Hunters, I would join you if I could—because Wickedness must be punished! Punished! Punished!"

When he raised the body of the limp girl up, the crowd cheered and chanted two words, "BUT GOOD!"

**A/N: **Short, but still a song... this one's from Wicked too. Don't worry, next will be another show, I'm still in the process of thinking, though.


	4. I Can't Do it Alone

1**A/N:** Thank you soooooo much to **Claire F.**, from whom this idea came from. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

**I Can't Do it Alone**

_Max II_

It was days like this when I wished I had a can to clink across the bars of my cell.

My eyes stared at Max, who was writing useless words in the dust on the floor. We needed to do something. Anything entertaining. Maybe I could ask her to join me; and we could break out of this place together. Show her some of the movies my sister and I used to have—

_My sister._

What a nifty girl she'd been; not a copy of anyone, just another human-avian hybrid. She'd been at the School for sometime, and I'd promised I would find her after I had been... created. She was the same age as I... in fact, we were fraternal twins. Many of you don't know this, but I was _changed _to look like Max. I was close enough to her personality that they _made _me look like Max... very painfully.

Maria had been my name, and she had been Lucia. Mary and Lucy, we were the Dynamic Duo, hiding from whoever we needed to. We incorporated dances into our attacks, synchronized our techniques. I missed the Dynamic Duo days. The days before Lucy had been killed.

"My sister and I had an act that couldn't flop," I said to Max, trying to catch her attention. I could tell that she noticed me speaking but didn't acknowledge it. "My sister and I were headed straight for the top. My sister and I stole a thou a week at least... oh, sure," I nodded at her confused face. "But my sister is now, unfortunately, deceased."

She cringed but looked intrigued. "Oh, I know, it's sad, of course, but a fact is still a fact. And now all that remains is the remains of a perfect... double... act!" I jumped up, wishing I was in my old costume, my old Mary costume, jumpsuit and all, full equipt with spy paraphernalia.

"Maxie," I began, stretching out, preparing to do some dances/attacks, "do you know you are exactly the same size as my sister? Oh, you would fit in her wardrobe perfectly. Look, why don't I just show you some of the act, huh?" She didn't nod, but I continued. "Watch this."

The old moves brought back so many memories that tears swelled in my eyes. _C'mon, Mary, you can do it_. "Now, you have to imagine this with two people. It's swell with two people." Then, I turned around, beginning. "First I'd..." I did a leap and then spun around in the air, doing some sort of corkscrew move and then landing on the floor.

"Then she'd..." I mimicked the move, only doing it the opposite way. "Then we'd..." I spun around in a circle, sweeping one leg across the floor and keeping one planted. "But I can't do it alone!"

Now Max looked entertained; either by the fact that I was dancing/kicking no one's but, or that she really wanted to do what I was doing. "She'd say, 'What's your sister like?' I'd say, 'Men!'" I laughed oddly. "She'd say, 'You're the cat's meow,' then we'd wow the crowd again. When she'd go..." I did a somersault and came out kicking. "I'd go..." I did the same thing, only backwards. "We'd go..." My hands shot out and karate chopped a plastic cup on the table.

I jumped on top of the table, just barely making it ."And then those ding-dong daddies started to roar; whistled, stomped, stamped on the floor, yelling, screaming, begging, 'No more!' And we'd say, 'Okay, fellas, relax. You ain't seen nothing yet!'" I did our old sidestep/jig thing, once again reminiscing. "Ah, aha, yeah! But I simply cannot do it aloooooone!"

Now I needed to take a breather. I sat on the table, looking at Max, who was still in the corner of the room. "Well?" I exhaled, wiping sweat off my brow. "What'd you think? C'mon, you can say."

She blew raspberries at me.

"Okay, okay. The first part can always be... rewritten. But the second part was really nifty. Watch this!"

I jumped off the table and went in front of it. "Then she'd... see, get it, right?" I raised my hands up and did a handstand, then springing forward to do a complete front handspring. "Then I'd... then I kick really high," I acted it out, kicking my feet up in the air. "Then we'd..." Jazz square, jazz square, cartwheel, boot to the face... "But I can't do it alone!"

"She'd say, 'What state's Chicago in?' I'd say, 'Ill.'" I chuckled. "Did you get that? She'd say, 'Turn your motor off!' I can hear 'em screamin' still! When she'd go..." I did a straight out scissor kick to the face. "I'd go..." I clamped two hands over invisible ears. "We'd go... sideways!" I did a grapevine and a side attack. "And then those two-bit Johnnies did it up brow, to cheer the best duo in town, they really tore the balcony doooooown!"

Once again I found myself on top of the table. "And we'd say, 'Okay, fellas, okay, we're going home... but here's a few more partin' shots!' And this... this we did in perfect unison." This was the most complicated move—I slid under the table and popped up, diving back on top of it and then did a log roll through the air, landing on my feet and sticking a foot at Max's neck, not putting on too much pressure. I grinned. She hadn't even seen me move.

"Now, you've seen me goin' through it, you can see there's nothin' to it, but I simply cannot do it... aloooooooooone!" I took my foot off her neck and held my arms out at full length, bowing on one knee.

Then she started laughing, slapping her knee. She mocked some of my moves with her arms, and when she looked at me, she choked out one word, "No."

What a witch.

**A/N: **XD this was fun, especially because I'm not a dancer.

Thanks again to **Claire F.**

Okay, so here's the deal.

There was a little mishap with one of my reviewers, it's been straightened out, but this is just for the record: no HSM in this story whatsoever. Sorry, I hate that knockoff so much that it could fill eight of this planet. This is how it goes down; I am so beepbeepbeep defensive of musical theatre that it's not even funny.

_RENT _is the best thing that's ever happened to me, I have at least four versions of it on my iPod. _Avenue Q _is the most hilarious thing I've ever heard/seen bootlegs of/hope I'm seeing with my cousin. _Wicked _is so ironically funny, and the music is amazing. _Aida _is a great story. My favorite song from _West Side Story _is "I Feel Pretty." I saw _CATS_, the dancing/music combination is brilliant. My cousin's making me a copy of the _Cabaret _CD. I love my copy of the _A Chorus Line _soundtrack. _Hairspray _has wonderful tunes. _Chicago _is one of my favorites. I was in _Annie _and _Once on This Island_, and I'm currently doing _Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat_. I'm hoping to be Adelaide in my school's production of _Guys and Dolls _this spring.

Everything I mentioned up there is on my iPod... for a grand total of 229 showtunes on my iPod... out of 392 songs in total.

So you want to question my knowledge of musical theatre?

I thought not.

Anyway; so... yeah. If you want to insult musical theatre; I'll murder your face off. And no, HSM won't be in here.

This is just a general warning.

ANYWAY! Review?

–Steph.


	5. Without You

1**A/N:** I don't really like this one; but I love this song.

**Without You**

_Max and Fang_

With the steel toe of her boot, Max ground a single pebble into the concrete ground below her until it was dust. _That's what I feel like_, she mused, looking down at the particles. _I feel like a speck of dust_. Or she felt like something that was rotting... she couldn't stand being locked up this long; not with the pathetic wannabe her cell mate was.

Looking sleepy, Total trotted over and dropped his head in Max's lap. She stroked his back. "I'm sorry, Total," she whispered to him, running her fingers through his hair. "I really didn't mean for us to get caught. I'm so sorry."

With his big eyes, Total looked back up at her. "It's my own fault; I was the one who left the house to go to the bathroom. And you were just going to clear your head, no harm in that. Nobody blames you for this, Max."

A snicker came from the other corner of the cell. "I would."

Total growled at Max II.

"Why are _you _here?" Max challenged, standing up and eyeing her twin carefully. "You're on _their _side, aren't you? Why would they lock one of their own up?"

She rolled her eyes. "I tried to get out. I hate this life just as much as you do."

There wasn't one snide comment in there, one insult, and yet, just those words alone deprived Max of words and she fell silent.

Sighing, Max turned back to the contraption that she'd made. She'd bent the table in half and set it up against the wall, creating a tall platform to sit on. It went up as high as the barred window at the top of the cell, and gave her a perfect view of the moon.

She missed the flock. But most of all... she missed Fang. What if she died here and never got to see the world again?

Leaning against the cold wall, she started to sing.

"Without you, the ground thaws, the rain falls, the grass grows. Without you, the seeds root, the flowers bloom, the children play. The stars gleam, the poets dream, the eagles fly, without you." Tears formed in her eyes, and she lifted a hand up to the bars that protected her from the moonlit field beyond her. "The earth turns, the sun burns, but I die without you."

Behind her she heard Total shuffling, probably trying to get in a comfortable position, but she could feel Max II's eyes on her back, probably a pitying gaze. "Without you, the breeze warms, the girl smiles, the cloud moves. Without you, the tides change, the boys run, the oceans crash. The crowds roar, the days soar, the babies cry, without you. The moon glows, the river flows," I turned around and looked at Max II, fully aware of the tears streaming down my cheeks, "but I die without you."

She nodded and knew I was thinking about Fang.

Outside in that same field, Fang looked up at the same moon. "The world revives," he sang, looking at the building before him.

"Colors renew," Max sang louder into the bars.

"But I know blue, only blue, lonely blue, within me blue." Together their voices chorused, entwining together to create the sound that only love can. Fang's perfect ears twitched—could he hear another voice? And Max strained hers as well; if she tried hard enough, could she hear Fang's voice in the distance?

"Without you," Max simply said, choking back on her tears. "Without you, the hand gropes, the ear hears, the pulse beats."

Now Fang was certain that he'd heard something. He stood up from his tree and tapped the back of Iggy's hand twice, and then jumped down to the ground below him. "Without you, the eyes gaze, the legs walk, the lungs breathe. The mind churns!"

"The mind churns," Max repeated.

"The heart yearns!"

"The heart yearns."

"The tears dry," they sang together again, as Fang grew closer to Max's window. "Without you. Life goes on, but I'm gone, 'cause I die without you."

When he discovered Max's cell window, he lifted himself up by the bars and then stayed there, staring into her teary eyes, wishing he could help her. He linked his fingers through hers. "Without you," her voice was drowned out by sobs.

"Without you," Fang repeated.

"Without..." they looked into each other's eyes. Fang saw the tears in Max's and wiped them away. She grasped his finger and smiled. "You."

**A/N: **Yeahhhhh... so this was totally cliched, but this is my favorite love song EVER. And it's from _RENT _which is an added bonus of wonderfulness.


	6. My Strongest Suit

1**A/N: **Gah, sorry! Such a long wait! I got wrapped up in RENT.

Okay, so not many of you may know Aida, but it's a great show, and this song just instantly reminded me of Nudge... it's great. :)

**My Strongest Suit**

_Nudge_

"Shit!" I uncharacteristically shouted as I entered the cell, kicking and screaming at the Erasers that held me. Max glared at my language, but looked altogether happy to see me. "Sorry about that... this Eraser over here—" I held back the rest of my comments, for they included lots of swear words that I was sure Max didn't want to hear.

"Great, they caught the _motor mouth _one," Max II complained from the other side of the room.

"Yeah," I snarled, "'Cause I was kicking all their _butts _and they got _mad_—"

"Nudge, Nudge, chill," Max soothed me, clobbering me into a hug. "Are you okay? How're Gazzy and Iggy and Angel? And Fang?"

"Fine, fine," I chuckled, "They're perfectly fine."

The conversation from there was vague; a lot of small talk. Me and Max, of course, had no problem conversing, but Max II was kind of starting to get obnoxious. However, I finally got to basic questions and even felt kind of... well... _sorry_ for her.

"What's your favorite thing to do?" I challenged her.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I really haven't done much in life. What about you?"

There was no hesitation: "Shop!"

Max's head whipped around. Clearly she thought it would be "kick Eraser butt" or something along those lines. "_What?_" she asked, and I grinned.

"In life, one has to face a _huge _assortment... of nauseating fads, and good advice. There's health, and fitness, diet and deportment... and other pointless forms of sacrifice. Conversation? Wit? I am a doubter. Manners, charm? They're no way to impress. So forget the inner me... observe the outer." Suddenly I was aware that I was singing. "I am what I wear... and how I dress."

I paused and turned around at the two Maxes behind me, both of them seemingly stunned that I was singing about my love of fashion.

"Oh, now I believe in lookin' like my time on earth is cookin', weather polka-dotted, striped, or even checked. With some glamor guaranteein', every fiber of my being is displayed to quite remarkable effect. From your cradle via trousseau—"

In front of me, Max and Max II were singing "Ooh"s and "Ah"s in tune with my words, crouching down and rising higher the higher they sang.

"—to your deathbed, you're on view, so never compromise, except no substitute. I would rather wear a barrel than conservative apparel, for dress has always been... my strongest suit."

Suddenly, Max and Max II were doing a choreographed dance, smiles on their faces as they chanted. "Overwear! Underwear! Anytime! Anywhere!"

I almost started cracking up right there, but I kept my composure. "Staying in or hitting townwards, from the top and working downwards, I ensure that every stitch is stitched in time."

"Is stitched in time!" Max and Max II sang after me, miming sewing.

"Whether wig or hat or turban, whether clad boudoir or urban, not to strut yourself out_rageously_ is a crime!"

"Such a crime," Max and Max II wagged a lone finger back and forth, echoing me."

"And the few who are invited," I sang, leaping about the cell like a freaking gazelle, "to my wardrobe are delighted as they wander through my things to find en route."

"We're wandering through your thangs!" They repeated, making 'things' into 'thangs.'

"That in negligee or formal, I am anything but normal, for dress has always been—" I bent my knees and rocketed myself on top of the table in the middle of the cell, "my strongest suit!"

I did a short dance on top of the table, breaking it down Nudge style, and Max and Max II cartwheeled about and danced with each other, chanting, "Overwear! Underwear! Anytime! Anywhere!" they repeated over and over.

"I am what I wear!" I belted, and lay down on the table, looking across at the Erasers outside the cell, looking like they were itching to dance. "I said anytime, anywhere! So bring me all my finest—most audacious, my divinest, most revealing, most expensive and to boot!" I sat back up and jumped off the table, going to the front of the cell and leaning out at the Erasers.

"Most arresting?" they asked, stopping and looking at me.

"Most arresting!" I confirmed, sashaying by them.

"Most heart-stopping?"

"Most heart-stopping! Most free-flowing, most eye-popping," I continued, "most arresting, most heart-stopping, yeah! Dress has always been my strongest suit!" _Okay_, I thought, feeling my vocal chords ache, I was definitely going to feel the pain for this tomorrow when I couldn't even talk.

"I am what I wear!" Max and Max II sang over and over again, and I did rifts and such.

"My strongest suiiiiiiiit!" I sang. "You know that I am what I wear! Dress has always been my strongest suuuuuuuu-oooooooh-wooooooooouuuut."

There was a break, and all three of us got on the floor and did a complicated dance—I don't know how we all knew it—but then male Erasers emerged through the cell doors and were doing lifts, putting us on their shoulders and doing running jumps and cartwheels and backflips—God, we looked like Broadway.

"Soooooo bring me all my finest, most audacious, my divinest, most free-flowing, most expensive and to boot! Most arresting, most heart-stopping, most free-flowing, most eye popping! Dress has always been my strongest suiiiiiit! My strongest suiiiiiiiit! You know that I am what I wear, dress has always been my strongest, my strongest, my strongest, my strongest, my strongest, my strongest—"

I dove off an Eraser's shoulders, taking flight and doing two flips forward before sticking the landing and throwing my arms out around me. "SUIT!" all three of us ended.

Then, just like that, the Erasers left—

But then Fang busted down the door.

Things were going to get interesting.

**A/N:** Jeezum, apologies, dearies!

Next chapter will most likely be either "Totally Fucked" from Spring Awakening, or if any of you have a really great fight scene song... or, another suggestion from **Claire F.**, I might have "Razzle Dazzle" from Chicago in there... who knows. :)

REVIEW?!

–Steph.


	7. Razzle Dazzle

1**A/N:** Alright, I'm going with Chicago, because I loved this too much to pass it up. Thanks, **Claire F.**!

**Razzle Dazzle**

_The Voice_

No sooner had Nudge finished singing and Max II and I finally rested our aching ankles after all the damn flippys we'd done when Fang came bellowing in, busting down the door with Iggy, Gazzy and Angel behind him, all in ready-to-fight stance.

_Great_, I thought, watching as the Erasers ran up to them and began to fight.

_Hey_,said the Voice, _don't lose all hope yet. You've got Max II, and Nudge, and maybe even me to open a few doors_... as these words were spoken, the cell door slowly creaked open, and I looked at Max II and Nudge, hoping that I wasn't just seeing things—was this door really opening up, were we really free?

_Yes, Max_, chuckled the Voice, _c'mon, at least put up a fight... for my sake._

Something was bothering me about the Voice... maybe the fact that it sounded like it was going to go on a streak of confusing metaphors, or give me some riddles of some sort. Not only that, but it was going nuts, thinking that my flock could take on this many Erasers after this exhausting time.

_Oh, c'mon, Max, you know you can do this. _

_Oh? _I raised an eyebrow as I exited the cell and broke a single Eraser's neck. _Do I really?_

After a short jolt of pain, music began, and the Voice's... well, voice, was no longer speaking. He was... singing.

_Give 'em the old razzle dazzle, razzle dazzle them. Give 'em an act with lots of flash in it, and the reaction will be passionate. Give 'em the old hocus-pocus, bead and feather 'em. How can they see with sequins in their eyes?_

I picked up dirt from the corner of the room next to the broom and threw it into one Eraser's eyes, kicking another's legs out from underneath him. I rather liked the way the Voice was talking, er, singing, though the latter was kind of creeping me out.

_What if your hinges all are rusting?_

"They aren't," I snapped aloud, kicking an enemy in the face.

_What if, in fact, you're just disgusting?_

"I'm _not_," I gritted my teeth and knocked two skulls together.

_Razzle dazzle them, and they'll never catch wise._

Whipping around quickly, I studied how my flock was doing. Nudge was a bit bloodied, but okay. Fang was doing great—I watched him take out three Erasers by doing a scissor kick thrice. Angel and Gazzy were teaming up and holding their own, and Iggy was beyond fine. Even Max II was fighting the darned Erasers.

_Give 'em the old razzle dazzle_, the Voice was singing again,_ razzle dazzle them. Give 'em a show that's so splendiferous, row after row will grow vociferous. Give 'em the old flim flam flummox, fool and fracture them. How can they hear the truth above the wrong? Throw 'em a fake and a finagle, they'll never know you're just... a bagel. _

"Am not!" I cried angrily, punching an Eraser in the chest and then throwing him into the brick wall. "Am _so _not!"

_Razzle dazzle them, and they'll beg you for more_.

"Whatever," I sighed, and watched as even more Erasers poured out of Freaking Nowhere. "Ahh, what the hell? Where are they coming from?"

Fang spun around, and just seeing his face made me blush. "No idea," she shrugged and punched an Eraser blindly, knocking its lights out. He walked over to me. "You alright? You look like you've been talking to the Voice," he noted, and tapped my forehead twice for good measure.

_Give 'em the old double whammy, daze and dizzy 'em._

"No, I'm fine," I nodded and cringed as the mental image of Fang singing this song seared my brain. That was more painful than the brain attacks themselves.

_Back since the days of old Methuselah—_

"You sure?"

—_everyone loves the big bamboozala._

Fang saying 'bamboozala'? That was too much—I burst into laughter. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine, I'm great. We should probably k-keep fighting—"

_Give 'em the old three-ring circus, stun and scatter 'em. When you're in trouble, go into your dance. Though you are stiffer than a girder, they'll let you get away with murder—razzle dazzle them, and you've got a romance._

Now either my mind was playing tricks on me or the Erasers actually _were _wearing feathery pink boas and stilettos... probably works of the Voice. I shook my head viciously, trying to get the boas and stilettos to leave, but the Erasers were looking at their feet and their boas questioningly, like, "Holy crap, where did _these _come from?"

Then the Erasers were singing back up to the Voice. God, this was getting fucked up. _Give 'em the old razzle dazzle, razzle dazzle them. Show 'em the first rate sorcerer you are. Long as you keep 'em way of balance, how can they spot you've got no talent? Razzle dazzle them—_

"RAZZLE DAZZLE THEM!" the Erasers cried, doing a kick line.

_Razzle dazzle them... _the voice paused and then its voice was strong and in time with the Erasers'. _And they'll make you a staaaaaaaaaaaaaaar!_

"LET'S GO!" I shouted, and I started booking it down the hallway and out into the open grassy field of darkness. "YES! CAN I GET A WHOOP-WHOOP FOR STILETTOS?"

"Whoop-whoop!" Iggy answered, and we high-fived for good measure.

Suddenly, Jeb was right behind us, holding up a large gun. "MAXIMUM!" he shouted, and I giggled at the use of my full name. "_What did you do in there?_" he roared, holding the gun up to his eye. "You're going to pay!"

...Okay. So _Jeb _had finally gone crazy... what was next?

"Wait!" Fang started, jumping in front of the line of fire. "It... it wasn't her."

Jeb lowered the gun. "Oh, really?"

Fang nodded. "Really, _man_."

Why was he talking like a Jamaican?

...and that's where things started getting weird.

**A/N:** Next is "Benjamin Calypso," a song from _Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat._ Great song from a great show that I'm currently doing. :)

–Steph.

(PS: I'm officially turning of anonymous reviews because of some anonymous flames on the RENT board that I can't address... I might change my mind, but I'm not sure.)


	8. Benjamin Calypso

Sorry it was such a long wait for an update, my internet died and I couldn't access FanFic. Joseph ended, unfortunately, but the show is always in my heart. :) Now I'm doing Guys and Dolls (I'm Adelaide, for those of you who are familiar with the show, whoop-whoop!), so expect some songs from that if I can somehow squeeze 'em in.

WARNING: Fang is incredibly out of character. I tend to make the angsty characters into goofballs, just so you know. XD

**Benjamin Calypso**

_Fang_

I don't know what inclined me to sing—I just sort of _did_, like it came to me naturally, as if life were now suddenly a musical. Some stray Eraser had Max, aiming the gun at the back of her head and holding her wrists together behind her back. His foot was also right in front of her feet, so if she tried to run, she'd trip and fall.

Behind me, Gazzy, Angel, Iggy, Nudge, and Max II got into a line, doing various island-esque dances, acting as if they were Jamaican or something of that nature.

"Oh no!" I sang, wagging my finger.

"Oh no!" they echoed.

"Not she!" I pointed to Max, dancing around her and looking at Jeb, hoping my accent would convince him that Max wasn't guilty.

"How you can accuse her is a mystery," we sang together, and the stray Eraser looked very amused. Jeb didn't look pleased; he was watching me dance around him like a loser. I thought I was pretty spiffy, but Jeb clearly didn't.

"Save her!"

"Save her!"

"Take me!" I pleaded, getting on my knees in front of Jeb. I didn't want Max to be hurt any more, I just wanted her to be okay. Seeing her in that cell wasn't exactly something I wanted to repeat, and if he'd take me instead of her, I'd be happy.

"Take me!"

"Maximum is straighter than the tall palm tree!" we told him, and took a short break to do some groovy dancin'.

"I hear the steel drums sing their sooooong!" I wailed, going into my tenor voice, which was way stronger than my baritone anywhere. "They're singing man you know you've got it wrooooong!" I shook my head at Jeb and turned to face the people dancing behind me, nodding and dancing along with them. "I hear the voice of the yellow bird singing in the tree: 'This is quite absurd—OH YES!"

"Oh yes!" they responded, dancing forward and matching my somehow already choreographed dancing.

"It's true!" I nodded.

"It's true!"

"Maximum is straighter than the big bamboo," I saw Max glare as we used her full name, but, hey, it was _kind _of working—Jeb looked amused and the stray Eraser was simply cracking up, doubled over, but still managing to hold the gun to Max's back.

"No ifs!" I demanded, as Jeb went to open his mouth.

"No ifs!"

"No buts!"

"No buts!"

"Maximum is honest as coconuts!"

At this point, we all gathered in a giant circle around Jeb, and I found myself next to him in the middle, as everyone else was dancing with animated looks on their faces, like they were in this world along with me and couldn't stop it. I was having fun. Max was looking freaked out, but I'm sure she was having fun. And the stray Eraser was having fun, too. "Sure as the tide wash the golden saaaaaaand, MAXIMUM is an innocent... _wo_maaaan!" I tried to make it rhyme desperately. "Sure as bananas need the sun, we are the criminal, guilty ones!"

We spread out in a line, me in front of them as they did mock palm tree movements. "Oh no!"

"Oh no!" the replied once again, waving their fingers at Jeb and the stray Eraser

"Not she!"

"Not she!" they shook their heads.

"How you can accuse her is a MYSTERY! SAVE HER!"

"Save her!"

"Take me!"

"Take me!"

"Maximum is straighter than the tall palm tree."

Behind me, the line broke into a chorus of harmonized la's, in key, as I continued to sing. "Sure as the tide wash the golden saaaaaaaand, MAXIMUM is an innocent wo-maaan! Sure as bananas need the sun, we are the criminal guilty ones!"

Then I joined them in the la's, making neat rifts out of them. By the time we were done singing, the Eraser was keeled over and Max was in between us, and then she was on Iggy's shoulders, and the song was over, our hands high over our heads, the only sound coming from the Eraser, who was still laughing and pointing to Max, high on top of Iggy's shoulders.

Jeb, who looked officially weirded out, stalked away, not leaving a remark.

We stared at each other, and then I let out a whoop and high fived the nearest person, who happened to be Gazzy. "Oooh, what now?! We just owned them!"

"Fang, stop it with the gangsta talk," Max shook her head in disgust as she climbed down from Iggy's shoulders. "C'mon, let's go home."

_END ACT ONE. _

**A/N:** There'll be a short intermission, and then there'll be "Act Two" ;)

–Steph.


	9. Act II: Mix Tape

**A/N:** Oooh man, sorry it's been so long! So. Much. Homework. Entering fourth term, eighth grade, statewide tests coming up... rehearsals getting intense.

Anyway, I know how this will end, but I still need some middle ground: I love throwing in these songs. I love Avenue Q, just saw it in Boston with my cousin, and I heard this song and went: OMG MAX AND FANG FLUFFINESS!

Grr. Haven't been able to get my hands on The Final Warning yet, so let's keep this post book three, shall we? Gracias, amigos.

**Mix Tape**

_Max and Fang_

Being home felt good after being locked in a cell with your twin and a talking dog for so long. Even the fact that I now had to do dishes and laundry and all that other fancy stuff made me excited, I was itching to do housework, simply because I now had a house to do work in. It felt fabulous to be able to have hot steamy baths, and slam the door, and spend time with everyone else.

I was the only one who felt this way... I guess I just care about all that "the home is where the heart is" crap. A bad thing to possess when you're constantly being hunted and essentially wished dead, but whatever. It's the way I feel, it's got to mean something to me.

As of now, I was sitting in my room, lying on my bed, thinking. About my life, about the flock, about Fang. I seemed to do a lot of thinking about Fang—not a healthy past time, mind you. Basically... my thinking about him was thinking of if my growing crush was normal, or if it made sense, or if he'd laugh in my face, considering the length of time we'd known each other and the impossibility of a relationship at this stage in our lives.

Regardless, I was going into dreamy girl world. "Oh, _Fang..._" I breathed, blowing a chunk of hair out of my eyes. Then... I started to sing. "He likes me... I think he likes me. But does he 'like me' like me, like I like him? Can we be friends, or something more? I think he's interested... but I'm not sure..."

There was a light knock on the door and my breath hitched. "Come in!" I called, and in he came, the man himself. _Speak of the devil, and he shall appear..._

"Hey, Max."

"Fang... hi!" I smiled and sat up, nervously smoothing my hair out in the back.

"Hey," he repeated. "So, earlier I was going through a bunch of old CDs, and I kept coming across songs I thought you'd like and _we _used to like, so I decided I'd make you this tape." He flashed a winning smile and my insides melted. My eyes went to the tape and I grinned, no doubt blushing. He handed it to me and I turned it over in my hands.

"Oh, that's so sweet! Wanna hang out in here while I listen to it?" I made a move to close the door but he frowned.

"I'd love to, but give me a sec, I have to go make sure Iggy and Gazzy aren't trying to blow up Angel again..." he pivoted and walked out the door, scurrying along.

"Kay, I'll be here!" I called after him, and then turned around and squealed. "A mix tape," I started singing again, "he made a mix tape. He was thinking of me, which shows he cares! Sometimes when someone has a crush on you... they'll make you a mix tape to give you a clue. Let's see..." I turned it over and read the song titles. "'You've Got a Friend,' 'The Theme From Friends,' 'That's What Friends Are For.'"

I paused, and then it hit me. "...SHIIIIIT. Oh! But look—'A Whole New World,' 'Kiss the Girl,' 'My Cherie Amour!' Oh, Fang, he _does _like me!" I read slowly through the next song titles. "...'I Am the Walrus,' 'Fat Bottomed Girls,' 'Yellow Submarine.'" Um. "...What does this mean?"

We'd always loved Jeb's old music—Queen, the Beatles, et cetera, but if I thought he was going somewhere with the tape's song titles, they'd just been blown out of the water by the odd collection. I half pictured him singing, "I am the eggman... they are the eggmen... I am the walrus... koo koo kachoo," and nearly shat myself laughing so hard.

As my giggles were subsiding, Fang ran back into the room and closed the door, leaning against it and sprawling his arms out as if he were afraid someone was coming after him. "Hey... I managed to save Angel from being impaled by a very large spatula—did you know those things can quite easily be considered as lethal weapons?"

I ignored him. "Fang, thank you for this tape. I was just looking at side A; great songs!"

"Oh, did you get to side B yet?"

"No..." I turned it over, almost afraid of what I was going to be reading.

"Oh, it's great—check it out!" he leant over my back, his left arm around me, holding the tape in front of my face with me. "Right here..."

"'Stuck On You,'" I read, smiling, and realized we were singing again.

"'Love Me Do.'"

"'My Heart Will Go On.'" I let out a very loud and uncharacteristic squeal. "I _LOVED _TITANIC!" Which was true, it was probably my favorite movie of all time, because it could make me cry. Shut up, don't look at me like that. It's a good feature film for all ages, and it's a true story.

Fang looked at me oddly and shrugged. "Uh... it was all right? 'She's Got a Way,'" he sang, turning back to the tape.

"'Yesterday.'"

"'Goodnight Saigon!' FROM THE _RUSSIA _CONCERT!!" He shouted at a very loud volume, making me nearly go deaf in my left ear. When I turned to him, he was panting and was grinning wider than I'd ever seen him grin before.

"Oh... great..." I trailed off. "'Through the Years.'"

"'The Theme from _Cheers_.'"

"'Moving Right Along.'" I turned red and looked up at him, his face was so close... "Nice tape," I added quietly, hoping I wasn't as red as a tomato. He smiled gently and moved my index finger on to the last song written on the back of the tape case.

"Oh, there's one more... 'I Have to Say I Love You in a Song,'" he sang tenderly, and turned and smiled at me. He unwound his arm from around me and handed me the tape, a smile staying on his face still.

"Fang, that's so _sweet! _I've never gotten such a nice present from a guy..."

"Aw, well, I'm glad you like it. But... I have to go now," he went to turn. "I'm going to make one for Iggy, and Nudge, and Angel, and the Gasman!"

My heart stopped beating and I frowned, very dejected. "Oh..."

"Oh, and, uh... Max?"

I tried to drain my eyes but I kind of failed, so I looked up at him, eyes glazed over with water. "Yes?" I turned away as quickly as I could in fear that I'd break down right there in front of him.

"What are you doing tonight?"

"Probably... just sitting around. Trying to keep Iggy and Angel from killing each other... why?"

"Well, what if I got Iggy and Gazzy to watch her... and we just went for a walk? We haven't talked like this for a while. Just me and you... just to think and just converse like old times. Hmm?" he flashed a crooked smile at me and I nearly melted, and I dared add to the conversation:

"Like... a date?"

I was afraid how he'd react, but he nodded. "Yeah... like a date. It'll be fun."

"I'd love to come!"

"Great, I'll see you in a few minutes then!"

I was quickly dismissing him from my room. "Bye!" I called, and he said bye back, and I closed the door. Slowly, I turned and slid down to the ground, a smile on my face. "He likes me," I sighed dreamily and stood up, running over to the dresser to fix my hair and change my clothing. How could I feel this way? It was just so amazing, and...

I sighed again. "He likes me..."

**A/N:** Ahahah. Aww.

Okay, so I've had requests from Les Mis, Hairspray, Sweeney, and The Nightmare Before Christmas. Hairspray I'm familiar with, I'll see what I can do... Les Mis, I've yet to see, just as Sweeney (it came out on DVD on my birthday, April 1st, and I'm DYING to see it), and I know the Nightmare Before Christmas, but not particularly well. Please give me song names with your requests, and I will try my hardest! I'm definitely putting in Across the Universe, my second favorite movie of all time, even though they were Beatles songs originally they were made into musical songs by Julie Taymor and I'm using them, so there. XD

I think I'm going to throw in some Legally Blonde, if I can manage it (Bend and Snap? XD) and next chapter will almost definitely be something from You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. If not next chapter, that'll be the one after that.

Review!


	10. My New Philosophy

**A/N:** I don't know why I made this chapter from Gazzy's POV... I don't know, I didn't want Angel's point of view for some reason. But this song reminds me of Angel so much. :)

**My New Philosophy**

_Angel_

It was incredibly random for Max and Fang to have decided to go for a "walk," but I decided not to put in my input. It was Iggy, Nudge, Angel, Total and I still in the house, and we were all a little itchy and anxious to do something more than just waste away. I was sitting in the kitchen, eating ravioli, Nudge sitting next to me at the table engrossed in a book. Iggy was in the living room, lying on the couch. Angel came stomping in, adorning a paper with math problems on it.

See, Max and Fang had decided to start testing us and teaching us various subjects. Angel was learning math first, and there was a big red _D_ on it. I decided not to say anything, but Nudge and I exchanged a look of disappointment. She crossed to the couch and almost sat on top of Iggy, so he curled his long legs underneath him.

"Oh yeah? That's what you think," she muttered, giving the paper a short punch. Then, she crumpled it up in her hands and held it there, frowning.

"What?" Iggy asked, half chuckling as he sat upright.

"That's my new philosophy. 'Oh yeah? That's what you think!'"

"Well... why are you telling me?" Iggy questioned, raising an eyebrow. He closed his eyes again and leant back against the back of the couch, long fingers entwined and resting on his chest.

"What?" Angel asked, studying him.

"Why are you telling me?" Iggy repeated.

"'Why are you telling me?'" She paused, and then grinned wildly. "I _like _it! That's a good philosophy... 'Why are you telling me? Why are you telling me?'" Then, to my intense horror, she did something all of us had been doing lately... she started to _sing_. In key, like, _belting. _"'Why are you telling me?' My new philosophy." She slowly smoothed out the paper and pointed to it. "The teacher gave a _D_ on last week's homework! She said, 'Oh, Angel, dear, your failure's getting clear...' I could have told her—"

"Your new philosophy?" Iggy questioned, clearly amused by my younger sister's tactics.

"My new philosophy!" She turned her head, facing the way she'd previously been sitting. She stopped singing and instead acted out a scene. "'Angie?'" then she stopped and faced the other way again, posing as both the teacher and herself. "'I'm she.' 'Look see.' 'A _D_?' 'A _D._'" She paused, and then turned to Iggy, and threw her hands into the air. "Well, why are you telling me? And that's my new philosophy!"

"That's your new philosophy?" Iggy questioned, smoothing out Angel's hair and smiling at her.

"'Why are you telling me?' My new philosophy!"

"Well, that's good, Angel," Iggy smiled, but then he rose to his feet and started walking away. "But I think I'm going to try and get some rest, or maybe fix the lock on Max's closet as a homecoming gift—"

"No!" she shouted, and pulled him back down to the couch. Then, she stopped. "I _like _it! 'No!' That's a good philosophy. 'No!' 'No!' 'No!'"

"That's your new philosophy, huh?" A smile crept upon Iggy's face, and he crossed his long arms over his chest and sat there, enjoying the show Angel was putting on for him.

"Yes!" she grinned proudly... but then paused. "I mean—'NO!'" Once again she started singing, "Just like a busy bee, each new philosophy can fly from tree to tree and keep me moving! When life's a dizzy maze, on alternating days, I choose a different phrase—" Iggy stood up and took his hands into hers.

"Your new philosophy?"

"My new philosophy!"

"Angel!" he smiled, and started to dance with her, towering over her. He began to sing along with her. "Some philosophies are simple: 'Man does not eat by bread alone.' Some philosophies are clear—"

"Leave your message at the sound of the tone," she finished, and grinned.

The two sang together. "Some philosophies pick at choose, deciding what goes in it..."

"Some take a lifetime," Iggy sang.

"Mine take a minute!"

Iggy grinned wide and sat down, Angel still standing in front of him. "You know, Angel, anything that takes only a minute can't be very lasting... for instance. Jeb took a long time planning us out, and look how fabulous we are.

"'No!'" she cried, and Iggy frowned.

"I can't stand it!"

"'I can't stand it!'" She echoed, and her face lit up. "I like it!" She broke into song once more. "It's like a guarantee, my new philosophy. And things are sure to be a whole lot brighter. 'Oh yeah? That's what you think!' 'Why are you telling me?' 'No!' 'I can't stand it!' Now life is free and easy, much more philosophy-zy, with my brand new—" She stopped mid note and began to speak. "You know, someone has said that we should live every day as if it were the last day of our life."

Nudge's head flew up and her eyes went wild, only hearing the end of Angel's speech. "AAAAH! What?! This is the last day? This is it?! I only have twenty-four hours left! Help me! Help me! This is the last day! AHHHHH!" She dropped her book and simply flew out of the room, nearly knocking me down with her, and there was a slam when her door closed.

"Clearly... some philosophies aren't for all people," Angel sighed, and shook her head, and then grinned. "And that's my new philosophy!"

**A/N: **Really quick update.

Next will probably be "I Should Tell You" from RENT with Fang and Max, and then I'm hoping to hop back here with the rest of the flock... what interesting song could I throw in? XD I'm definitely going to make Total sing "Snoopy" from You're a Good Man Charlie Brown. Hahah. Okay, more suggestions requested! Review!


	11. And

**A/N: **Don't ask where this came from. The entire monologue by Bobby is from A Chorus Line, as is his character's name, and the song "And" is from there too. Hahah. I love his monologue. So yeah anyway, read and review!

**And**

_Prisoners_

It was late in the middle of November, and it was confusing as to why we were out here. I'd been taken from my home in a rickety van, as far as I was concerned, and was surprised to have woken up with my clothes on. The girls around me were crying, and the other guys were kind of nervous, but I was just pissed—I wanted to go back to bed. I had no reason to be standing outside in this weather, no reason to be surrounded by these people who really needed to shave.

We were all being moved into a large building, herded like cattle. Around us were electrically charged—so far, two kids had attempted to escape and had been fried, nearly catching on fire. I was just doing as I was told in hopes that I'd get out faster. I felt like I was in the reincarnation of the Holocaust, even though I'd never had a religion myself. Sighing, I watched as my own breath rose toward the sky before me, as so many other kids' did around me.

We entered a dimly lit room, and were snapped into a line. The girls were behind us, comforting each other, but we stood tall in the front row. "Girls, shut up!" Someone cried from down the hall, and when they entered the room, I'll admit, I was a teensy bit horrified.

It was a man, clearly, who had metal all around the back of his neck. He looked half wolf, half human, and two large wings were attached to his back. "I'm an Eraser, a flying one, in fact. Many of you will join me... if you live," he finished, and snapped his fingers. Two more 'Erasers' came out from where he had, and detached his wings. The girls behind us were silent, and our entire line went rigid in fear.

"Who's up?" the wolfman asked, and his other, seemingly fully wolf pals, nudged the first boy in line's sleeve, and he walked up and stood on the "stage" they'd arranged for us.

"Tell us about yourself," a human asked, and he was a man, clearly getting up there in age. It didn't sound like mockery in any way... he sounded like he sincerely wanted to hear what the boy had to say. For some reason, I found it hard to believe that this man was on their side. The boy introduced himself as Bobby.

"Well... to begin with, I come from this quasi-middle-upper or upper-middle class, family-type home. I could never figure out which, but it was real boring. I mean, we had money—but no taste. You know the kind of house... Astroturf on the patio? Anyway, my mother had a lot of card parties and was one of the foremost bridge cheaters in America. My father worked for this big corporation... they used to send him out into the field a lot—to drink. Better that than to find him lying on his office floor... but he was okay... _I _was the strange one."

"_How _strange?"

Bobby paused for a moment, and then smiled. "Real, real strange. I used to love to give garage recitals. _Bizarre _recitals. This one time, I was doing Frankenstein as a musical and I spray-painted this kid silver—_all _over. They had to rush him to the hospital, 'cause he had that thing when your pores can't breathe..." The man's eyes went wide, but the boy was still in his little dream sequence. "He lived 'cause luckily I didn't paint the soles of his feet, and..."

Suddenly, I was nervous—what was I supposed to say? And then I was singing, but nobody else noticed besides the boys and girls in line near me. "And... what if I'm next? What if I'm next? What am I gonna do? I haven't got a clue. I gotta think of something... what does he want? What does he want? Stories from the past, I better find one fast..."

We all started to sing. "What should I say? What can I tell him?"

Our voices died down, and we could hear the boy again. "...as I got older, I kept getting stranger and stranger. I used to go down to this busy intersection near my house at rush hour and... direct traffic. I just wanted to see if anybody'd notice me. That's when I started breaking into people's houses." He stopped speaking for a moment, and then saw the look on all our faces. "Oh! I didn't steal anything—just rearranged their furniture. And..."

Behind me, a pretty young woman about my age started singing. "And... orphan at three, orphan at three, mother and dad both gone, raised by a sweet ex-con. Tied up and raped at seven... seriously! Seriously! Nothing too obscene... I'd better keep it clean."

I turned around. "What should I say? What can I tell him?" We sang.

Bobby was talking again. "... School? You want to hear about _school? _I went to P.S. Shit. See, I was the kind of kid that was always getting slammed into lockers and stuff like that. Not only by students—by the teachers, too. Oh, and I hated sports, _hated _sports. And sports were very big. I mean, it was jock city, but I didn't make _one _team. See, I couldn't catch a ball if it had Elmer's Glue on it. And didn't my father have to be this big ex-football hero, he was so humiliated, he didn't know what to tell his friends, so he told them all I had polio. On father's day I'd limp for him." He did a short demonstration... I smothered a chuckle. "And..."

Behind me, a very tall girl started to sing. "And... God, I'm a wreck, God, I'm a wreck, I don't know where to start... I'm gonna fall apart. Where are my childhood memories? Who were the boys? What were my toys? Gone beyond recall! And why am I so _tall?! _What should I say?"

Once again, all of us as a whole were singing. "What can I tell him?"

"And..." the tall girl began.

"And..." the tied up and raped girl and another shorter girl started.

"And..." I added.

"And..." everyone else joined in.

We stopped, and only the boy's voice was heard. "... and my mother kept saying, 'If you don't stop setting your brother on fire, we're going to have to send you away!' And I was always thinking up these _spectacular _ways how to kill myself. But then I realized—to commit suicide in Buffalo is redundant!"

Bobby smiled and walked off the stage... the door was instantly open and he was set free, wherever we were, to try to find his way home. I was called next, and I had to come up with an idea of how to save myself...

Something hit me.

**A/N:** This is from A Chorus Line. It's not on the soundtrack... but I needed to include it, because I could just see this happening. Haha. So _next _will probably be "I Should Tell You."

Review!


	12. I Should Tell You

**A/N: **Hahaaaaaaa... yeaaah. So I think I'm coming back to the MR fandom? I got The Final Warning and read it in about an hour... I'm kind of pissed it went into life-lesson, save the planet from global warming! mode, but it made me remember how much I really love those birdkids (: Hooraaaay. This is from RENT. Enjoy!

**I Should Tell You**

_Max and Fang_

It was a bit chilly outside, so I was thankful that I'd thought to bring my windbreaker. Fang wasn't wearing much, but he wasn't shivering, of course. He was so rocklike in that way... I rolled my eyes at him and smiled, looking up at the moon. He must've noticed, because he nudged me with his shoulder, and I turned, staring deeply into his dark eyes. "Yeah?" I asked, my voice a tad bit lower than I'd aimed for.

"Rolling your eyes?"

"You remind me of a canyon," I deadpanned.

He stopped walking, and actually let loose a chuckle. "A _what?_"

Alongside him, I stopped as well, counting the stars, trying to completely grasp my own comparison. "A canyon. You've been weathered and had the shit kicked out of you, and yet nobody really can understand how deep you are until they know you well. You're rock hard, but sometimes shit breaks and the pieces don't just pick themselves back up. You're too rocklike for your own good." I paused, and then shook my head. "Humor me."

He shrugged, and suddenly roundhouse kicked the trunk of a tree. "It's clobbering time," he growled, and I got the greatest mental picture of Fang as a big orange rock, and I had to burst out into laughter, which he joined in on. It felt good to laugh with Fang — it felt good to be with Fang as well.

I didn't want things to get awkward.

He loved me. I knew it. I knew he loved me in a sister-brother way, it had always been that way. I knew what he was thinking all the time. But was there something more?

Fang sat stood there, in the field beneath the galaxies, and opened his mouth once more, letting flow a stream of easy and beautiful notes. "I should tell you I'm disaster... I forget how to begin it." He rubbed the back of his head and then lay down on the grass, facing the constellations. I joined him.

"Let's just make this part go faster... I have yet to be in it." I stopped and propped myself up on my elbow. "I should tell you..."

"I should tell you..." he echoed.

"I should tell you..." I repeated.

"I should tell... Well, here we go," we both sang, looking into each others eyes. We were both sitting on the grass, me self conscious of grass stains, ebbing away from reality as I stared into Fang's eyes. "Now we..."

I turned away, tightening my fist around the almost poisonous green grass. "Oh, no..."

Noticing my clenching of garden, he put his hand on top of mine, making it relax instantly. "I know this something is..." he motioned between the two of us, and then sighed. "Here goes..."

"Here goes," I agreed.

"Guess so, it's starting to..." he stopped again to catch his breath. "Who knows."

"Who knows," I nodded.

"Who knows where..." we joined once more in song. "Who goes there. Who knows? Here goes... trusting desire, starting to learn. Walking through fire without a burn. Clinging a shoulder a leap begins. Stinging and older, asleep on pins." We quieted down and I locked on his eyes once more, wishing to swim in them, fall asleep in them, live in them. Always hold their focus. "So here we go... now we — "

He turned away this time. "Oh, no..."

"I know," I smiled reassuringly.

"Oh, no," he joked, and I threw some grass at him playfully.

"Who knows where — who goes there? Here goes..." we sang, "here goes... here goes, here goes... here goes, here goes..."

We stopped, staring into each other's eyes longingly. Fang. It was Fang and I, together, happy, proud. We'd just situated everything through a song, through each other's eyes. And I realized, that I didn't care how he felt... I loved him. I didn't care what that meant for the flock. For once, I cared about myself being happy, which I truly wished to be for once in a long time. Silently, I shut my eyes, wishing that I could stay in this moment forever, no more problems with Erasers, no more running, no more hiding. Just me, Fang, and a starlit evening, and things we should tell to each other.

Before I could think, before I could react, Fang's soft lips were pressing against mine, not vicious, not lustful, just... happy. Desiring. Without hesitation I responded to him, wrapping my arms around his neck and going with the flow. The way it needed to be. I loved him, and I wasn't going to let a thing stop it.

Suddenly, Fang's head jerked a bit, and then he pushed back, his eyes looking confused... like he was angry, or fighting something. Instead of turning and running as I have done many times, he kissed me again, this time hungry, and wanting.

What was this about?

I tried to bak away, but he kept me close, both of his hands on my shoulders. Slowly, they slid up to my neck, and he squeezed, all of the oxygen left in my throat vacating. He held me like that, took his lips away from mine, and when I saw his face, I almost screamed. This was not Fang. The bloodlust in his eyes... no, no, this was not Fang.

I sucked in oxygen as much as I could and screamed, hoping Iggy's bionic ears would hear me. "IGGY!" I shouted, and then Fang's hands were tighter around my neck.

Then he let them go, and I fell to the ground, crumpled. He kicked me roughly in the ribs, hard enough for one or two to crack. "F-Fang," I gasped, "Fang, what are you doing?"

He didn't speak. He continued to beat me — his fists flew at me with fury, making bruises on my face, a black eye. I remained motionless, I didn't fight. I couldn't. The oxygen wasn't getting to my brain well enough, and each time I tried to attack, he stopped me with another blow. Was this Fang? Wasn't he the boy I'd just been kissing? The emotional pain was harder than the physical, and I felt tears sting my eyes. Instantly I was sobbing into my hands. The blows stopped, but my crying didn't.

I saw Fang's face through the ocean water covering my face — his eyebrows were moving, as if he were battling to emotions. This wasn't Fang. Something must've possessed Fang. He wouldn't do this to me. Never.

Suddenly, there was my flock, running, Iggy in the lead. "Max!" he shouted, and his blind eyes quickly directed toward me. "Visual report!" he shouted, and though it wasn't a very leader-esque request, his voice meant all business.

"I—..." Gazzy's mouth opened and then shut, "It looks like Fang beat her up!"

There was another sharp jar to my head, and I could see no more.

**A/N:** This chapter seemed a little distant to me, but whatever. Next chapter will be "Nothing's Gonna Harm You" from Sweeney — I finally saw it, YAY! — if anyone can guess who's going to play what part, I will give you brownies!

Review, please!


	13. Nothing's Gonna Harm You

**A/N:** This was originally going to be Angel to Max, but broadwaylover07 guessed it was Gazzy to Max, and that seemed like a bet A/N: This was originally going to be Angel to Max, but broadwaylover07 guessed it was Gazzy to Max, and that seemed like a better idea, simply because Gazzy and Max don't interact that much. Oh, and btw… my computer's broken. Check the end of the latest chapter of my other MR story, _Sticks and Stones_, for the rant.

**Nothing's Gonna Harm You**

_The Gasman_

When I woke up, I was on our couch. My head was pounding, and I could feel open wounds stinging. For a moment, I didn't know what was going on, what had happened, and then I realized that Fang had succeeded in beating the crap out of me. Sighing, I tried to sit up, an unhealthy groan escaping my lips. Instantly, the younger kids were by my side.

"Are you okay?" the Gasman asked, eyes wide.

Nudge and Angel didn't wait; they simply flung themselves at my aching body. I gathered them in my arms and they cried, both saying how worried they'd been. "It's okay, it's okay, I'm fine. But where's Iggy?" I asked, and Nudge let go of me and bit her lip.

"We knocked Fang out and tied him up. Iggy's interrogating him, and Fang's claiming he has no idea what happened. He's dying to see you, but Iggy won't say what he did to you. Fang's going out of his mind." She sighed. "Angel can't get anything from him, but_ I _think he was just possessed or the School did something to him because he would never hurt you, ever. In a thousand years."

"Alright… well… go tell him that I'm awake, okay? And go help Iggy. I'm going to do some… thinking."

"Okay." Angel and Nudge exited the room and walked down one of the halls.

Gazzy stayed behind, keeping his back to me, but I knew he was thinking about me.

"What's wrong, Gazzy?"

He turned around, his eyes filled with knowledge and words he wanted to say. "Come over here. Sit next to me, tell me what's on your mind." Psychologist Max, that's me. But he obliged, walking over and sitting next to me on the couch. I stroked his hair, suddenly struck with the fact that he was only eight years old and going through all of this.

"It… seems like God put us all together," he voiced randomly, and, though shocked, I agreed.

"I feel quite the same way."

It was silent for a bit, and we sat there, content with each other's company. "… Max?"

"Yes, Gazzy?"

"Listen. You know there's nothing I wouldn't do for you. Like… if someone bad… near us… and you weren't sure…" he trailed off, looking out one of the windows, refusing to make eye contact with me. I frowned; what was he talking about?

"Gazzy? What's wrong?"

He stopped and sucked in a deep breath, beginning to sing. "Nothing's gonna harm you, not while I'm around. Nothing's gonna harm you, no, sir, not while I'm around. Demons are prowling everywhere, nowadays. I'll send them howling, I don't care, I got ways." He smiled big, and I smiled back at him, trying to figure out what he was getting at.

"No one's gonna hurt you, no one's gonna dare. Others will desert you, not to worry, whistle, I'll be there. Demons'll charm you with a smile," he dragged his gaze over to the direction where Fang was being tied up, and I understood then, "for a while, but in time…" I got the implication. "Nothing can harm you, not while I'm around."

He stopped for a moment, and I spoke to him. "Gazzy, that's very nice, but I think we'll be okay, right? And, you know, I don't want you to get hurt."

He jumped up from the chair, his eyes wild. He sang again. "Not to worry, not to worry, I may not be smart, but I ain't dumb. I can do it, put me to it, show me something I can over come. Not to worry…" his big blue eyes looked up at me, innocent, scared. "Mom."

I felt my throat close up. "Being close and being clever," he continued, "ain't like being true. I don't need to, I will never, hide a thing from you…" he nudged his head toward Fang's direction again. "Like some."

I took him onto my lap and sang. "Nothing's gonna harm you, not while I'm around. Nothing's gonna harm you, darling, not while I'm around…"

"Demons'll charm you with a smile, for a while, but in time… nothing's gonna harm you. Not while I'm around."

Content, he closed his eyes, and I leaned my chin on his head. "I love you, Gazzy," I said.

"I love you too, Max."

**A/N:** Short. Sorry. Next may be "Follow Your Heart" from Urinetown, either that or "Wonderful" from Wicked. Haha… guess who?


	14. Follow Your Heart

**A/N:** Yes! Computer is here, _already_. Well, I did so much hand-writing that it's not even funny, so we're going to be all good. I got so much of this written.

**Follow Your Heart**

_Iggy and Nudge_

Nudge couldn't take it anymore, really. Fang was so angry and shaken up. He felt so bad about Max, and he never meant what he was saying. She didn't know how she was aware of this, but she was. And now she was sad, too, and felt weird... like Iggy was just content with being angry at Fang, not wanting to solve anything. Iggy was always overprotective of the flock.

She left the room in a rush, wiping her eyes and nearly flying out the front door onto the porch. She expected Max to come after her, but when she looked over her shoulder, it was Iggy holding up a hand, and then walking onto the porch. He sat next to her on the stairs. It was quiet, and Nudge wanted to say so many things to him, but she couldn't find the words. Iggy broke the silence. "Nudge?"

She loved the way he said her name; soft, calm, happy. Caring. She exhaled and looked into his blind eyes, smiling. "Yeah?"

"Did you mean what you said? About everyone having a heart?"

Her eyebrows furrowed, but then she remembered back when Iggy had been interrogating Fang. "Heartless bastard," he had spat, and Nudge had softly reminded him, "Everyone has a heart, Iggy."

"Well, sure I did," Nudge answered. She threw a rock across their dark front yard. "Do you think you'd be feeling as bad as you do if you didn't have a heart?" she turned and looked at him again, waiting for an answer. He shrugged, stretching out his long legs.

"I don't know," he frowned, and looked quizzically at Nudge. "I suppose not."

"Of _course _you wouldn't," she slapped him playfully on the arm. "Cause then you'd be _dead_." Standing, she skipped through their yard, enjoying the clear, starry night. She rushed back over to Iggy and took his hands, standing him up next to her. "When darkness surrounds you and you lose your way, you have your own compass that turns night to day, and it's even with you before you depart -- be still, hear it beating, it's leading you -- follow your heart," Nudge sang.

Iggy closed his eyes and let himself fall into the grass, pulling Nudge down with him. She giggled. "Follow my heart?" Iggy questioned, turning to the girl beside him. "But to where?"

"To wherever your heart tells you to go."

"Even..." Iggy stuck out a long arm. "There?"

Nudge looked up at the midnight sky. "Even to the clouds, if that's what your heart commands." She sat up a bit and looked down at him. "What's it saying now?" she uprooted some grass and tossed it aside.

"I don't know," Iggy responded dejectedly. "I don't know how to listen to my heart."

"You have to listen _carefully_," Nudge instructed. "Here, let me try." Nudge slowly lowered herself, her head resting on Iggy's chest. The rise and fall of his body was comforting, as was the thump-thump of his heart. She realized she'd been listening for quite a while when Iggy asked, "Do you h--"

"Shhhh!" she silenced him, and then giggled. "Oh! There it is. It's saying..." she started to sing, "'We all want a world filled with peace and with joy, with plenty of safety for each girl and boy. That bright, shining world is just waiting to start -- no meanness or sorrow, just cleanness tomorrow, if only you follow your heart.'" Slowly, she sat up, levered on her right arm. "You see there, Iggy. Even your heart knows you should follow your heart."

Iggy was grinning, but thinking as well. "'Peace and joy.' 'Plenty of safety.' I guess I _do _want those things."

"There's something _else _your heart was saying... maybe something I shouldn't have heard."

Iggy froze. "There was?"

"I think so... it was barely audible, but I definitely heard something."

"Well, what was it?"

"Let me try again," Nudge said, "maybe I can make it out this time." She lay back down, putting her ear back to Iggy's chest. She gasped. "There it is. So faint... it's saying," she sang again, "'follow into the open air, far from squalor and noise. Follow, someone is waiting there... someone who shares all your hopes and your joys.'" She stopped, and rocketed up this time.

"'Someone is waiting there?'" she repeated, no longer singing. "Why, my heart was saying those exact words just the other day!"

"It was?"

"Sure it was! 'Squalor and noise,' 'hopes and joys,' it was telling me about _all _those things!" she grinned.

Suddenly excited, Iggy leapt to his feet. "I don't know two hearts could speak as one!" he exclaimed.

"I didn't either!" Nudge shouted, standing as well. "Until now," she added softly. It had never come to this -- Iggy and Nudge, alone, talking about love. Now, as she looked up as his periwinkle eyes and handsome face, she never wanted to leave. "Here, listen." Slowly, Nudge brought Iggy's ear to her heart. Although Nudge was nearing Max's height, she was still a good six or seven inches shorter than him.

Smiling broadly, Iggy pulled back, singing. "'Someday I'll meet someone whose heart joins with mine, aortas and arteries all intertwined. They'll beat so much stronger than they did apart -- eight chambers of muscle to hustle the love in our heart." His voice was soft and gentle, sincere.

Together they sang, holding hands and looking into each other's eyes. "Love is kind and considerate, love is peaceful and fair. Love can creep up so suddenly... when you least think of it, your love is there." Their faces were so close, and Nudge now understood her feelings for Iggy fully. He was always there, always comforting.

"We all want a world filled with peace and with joy, with plenty of justice for each girl and boy. That bright, shining world is just waiting to start. No anger or badness, just laughter and gladness," Iggy and Nudge held the last syllable, listening to it carry through the night.

"If only I follow your heart," they finished quietly, Nudge's voice reaching a beautiful high note. Ever so tenderly, Iggy kissed the note off her lips. When they pulled apart, Nudge fell into his arms, crying happily. Right here, right now, she was loving her life -- and she never wanted it to stop.

**A/N: **Aww, Nudge and Iggy are so cute. I love Urinetown, expect a TON of it. Next is "Wonderful" from Wicked. I'm buying Microsoft Word tomorrow, I think... hooray.

Review, please!


	15. Wonderful

**Wonderful**

_Jeb_

When Iggy and Nudge walked back into the house, my heart was swelled with happiness. I'd heard their voices intertwining like vines, and it touched my heart—I'd known that the two of them had something going on, but now that they'd put it into play, it made me happier. Iggy walked in behind Nudge, his hand rubbing the back of his neck, and Nudge was glowing, though they didn't tell me a thing. I simply smiled knowingly at Nudge and nodded my head.

Slowly, I rose, feeling my head as a headache approached me. "I'm gonna go talk to Fang. Stay in here—I'll try to get some private information out of him. Find Angel and Gazzy and keep them around, I'm feeling kind of fishy about this entire situation we're in right now."

They nodded and went off in different directions, and I walked toward the room Fang was in.

Sweat was pouring down his forehead, and his unkempt black hair was sticking out at different angles. His eyes were clenched shut, and his hands were making fists at his sides, which were roped off. I was surprised he hadn't busted out of the chair, and then I realized that Iggy had tied the knots, and Iggy had a thing for knots. "Fang?" I asked in an undertone, and his face went wild at the sound of my voice.

"M-Max," he breathed, and his face read relief. "You're okay. Max, I'm sorry—I don't know what happened," he explained calmly. As calmly as he could, even for Fang. "I blacked out—right after we kissed." He looked down at his clenched fists. "Freaks me out… they did something to me. I don't know when, but they did. They can control me."

We both knew who "they" was.

"Well, it… it scared me, Fang. I don't—"

All hell freaking broke loose then.

Something exploded behind Fang, and his chair fell over. I quickly untied him and we were on our feet, but then someone was behind me, dragging me away. Fang was going in the opposite direction, trying to pull away from whoever was grabbing him to me. All I saw was Erasers, tons of them, hundreds of them, filling the house, pulling me into a van and slamming the door shit, and then putting a sickeningly good smelling rag in front of my face.

My eyes blinked shut and I hit the floor of the van.

-- --

When I woke up, I was in a cage. A large one, for maybe the first time in my mutinous life. The first thing I did—count birdkids. Angel, Nudge, Gazzy, Iggy, me. Fang. Where was Fang? He'd been dragged away from me… and then… then… what _happened?_

The kids were still out, and no matter how much I tried to wake them, they didn't stir. I growled, shaking the bars. Nothing. I was useless.

A familiar face walked through the big white double doors at the other end of the room. "Jebster! Wow, long time no see. Missed you, man. I see you've got a bit of stubble—been stressing out? Wife not bake you those cookies every night? Well, she must, you're putting on some weight."

He didn't respond to that. "Max, you have to listen to me."

"I don't _have _to do anything."

He smirked. "Just like I left you."

"I'm going to pretend you didn't talk to me like I wasn't here. Or like I was a secret treasure." He opened his mouth to speak, but I held up an open palm. "And don't say something James Bond-y like, 'But you are, Maximum, you are the treasure of the world,'" I brought my voice down a few octaves and filled it with mockery. "Please. I don't need to hear this every time I see you. Get on with it, _por favor_."

He sighed, and inhaled sharply. Then… he was signing. "I never asked for this, or planned it in advance… I was merely blown here by the winds of chance. I never saw myself as a Solomon or Socrates; I knew who I was—one of your dime-a-dozen mediocrities. Then, suddenly, I'm here, respected, worshipped, even, just because the science scuz needed someone to believe in… does it surprise you, I got hooked and all too soon?" he asked, and I simply nodded. "What can I say? I got carried away, and not just by baboon…"

He stopped, and took a few steps closer to my cage, doing a simple dance step. "Wonderful. They called me 'wonderful.' And I said, 'Wonderful, if you insist. I will be wonderful,' and they said, 'Wonderful!' Believe me, it's hard to resist, cause it feels wonderful when you are wonderful—hey, look who's wonderful: this corn-fed hick! Who said, 'Steal lasses, lads, for use in science labs, and tell their parents that—whoops—the kids got sick.'"

Innocently, he put up two hands. "See—I never had a family of my own," he said, not singing any longer, "so, I guess I wanted to help science, and give you guys a family."

"You _stole _us!" I exclaimed, angry now, wrapping my fingers around the bars of the cell. "Twice!"

He shook his head wisely. "Maximum, where I'm from, people are stolen all the time. We call it 'identity theft.'" He shrugged, and sang again. "A man's called a traitor, or liberator, a rich man's a thief, or philanthropist. Is one a crusader, or ruthless invader? It's all in which label is able to persist. There are precious few at east with moral ambiguities, so we act as though they don't exist…" he pointed at the flock and I, and I crossed my arms over my chest.

"They call me 'wonderful,' so I _am _wonderful—in fact, it's so much who I am, it's now my nickname! And with my help, you can be the same." Now, he was walking toward me, opening the door to my cell and closing it behind him. "At long, long last, receive your due long overdue. Maximum—the most celebrated are the rehabilitated: there'll be such a whoop-dee-do… a celebration with the world that's all to do with you! WONDERFUL, they'll call _you _wonderful!"

Sarcastically, I jumped in, clapping my hands together. "That does sound wonderful…!"

"Trust me, it's fun!" he added, and then I realized… he believed my sarcasm. I grinned.

"When you are wonderful," we both sang, "it would be wonderful… wonderful, wonderful…"

"One! Two! And…!" Together, we linked arms and started doing an intense dance, with tricky steps that I'd never learned before. I guess musicals can do that to you, because I think that's what we were trapped in—one big, scary musical from hell.

Then, without warning, I stopped dancing, roundhoused him to the head, and escaped, leaving my knocked out flock behind me. I threw Jeb under a blanket before doing so, making it look like me, hopefully, and locked the door behind me. Let's see how I could do this.

**A/N: **(: Love thy Wicked. Love it hard.

I'm still not sure if I'm going to use any Across the Universe, simply because I feel like I'm not really using musical songs, I feel like I'm jipping Paul, John, Ringo, and George. I'm so defensive of my Beatles, simply because I'm one of the few in the teenage population who enjoyed Beatles music _before _ATU came out. So, I don't know.

Pretty kickass.

Next chapter will be up soon enough.


	16. Why Did I Listen to That Man?

**Why Did I Listen to That Man?**  
_All_

Breaking out of my cage had been too easy, so when I slipped on the disinfectant-y smelling lab coat, I was very careful about what was happening. The kids were safe, which is all I needed to know – what I was doing now… well, I wasn't so sure that I was going to survive.

Max II was sitting in a room off of the hall that I walked down, and I heard her singing. "Why did I listen to that man? Why did I listen to the nature of his plan? And when he talked, I should have balked, I should have walked, I should have ran! Why did I listen to that man?" she questioned, and that was when I realized there was another person in the room with her.

Ari. "Why did I listen to that crook? A little attention is all it really took. That's how that crazy "father" patron made me cave in – I'm a shnook!" he exclaimed, punching one of the walls. "Why did I listen to that crook?"

Stepping into the room, I made myself known, knowing it was a possible mistake. "Are you… on my side?" I questioned quietly, and they both nodded fervently. "We have to…"

"What's going on with Fang?" Max II asked suddenly. "Why did he do this to you?"

A lump caught in my throat, but I swallowed it and shrugged, not trusting my voice.

Suddenly, from behind me, I was taken roughly. "You're _dead!_" one of the Erasers carrying me, a female, roared, and though I struggled, I couldn't break free.

"You _lied _to us, Jeb!" Came a shout from the other side of the hallway, down the other end. Where I was being carried. "You told us you loved us two years ago, and now you've joined them! That's what you did! _That's what you did!_"

I'd never heard him express his feelings about Jeb around so many other people.

I heard at least three Erasers near him singing. "Now we've finally got you, now you're in our claws! Captured in our city of laws. There's no trial or jury, nothing to discuss… now the law is speaking through us!" They cackled evilly. "Expiration date! It's your expiration date! Here comes your expiration date! Now, no more fuss."

"LET GO OF ME!" Max II shrieked from where I'd previously been, "I HAVE TO SAVE MAX!"

The Eraser who had her laughed. "There's no saving Max now."

"There may be no saving you," another one put in.

"Oh no?!" she shouted as I was being carried farther away, "Then take that!" A groan. "And that!" A scream. "And this!" Oof. "And a few of these!"

Max II was fighting for _me? _And Ari was on my side? It seemed too convenient… but I'd take it.

"Why did I listen to that boy?" I sang. "He spoke of hopes and dreams and filled me with such joy. How can I know he loved me so, was it for show? Was I his toy? Why did I listen to that boy?"

Now we were in a gigantic room, Fang at one corner, Max II across from me. I was diagonal from Fang. There was a large winding staircase in the middle that opened at the top and had sunlight shining from it.

"Why did I listen to that cad?" Max II sang.

"Why did I listen to my dad?" I followed.

"I once believed in him, he said he loved me bad," we both sang.

"Was he sincere?" I wondered.

"Well, now it's clear—"

"And now I fear—"

"That I've been had!" we finished. "Why did I listen to—"

It got confusing here. Ari was pacing in the middle of the room, repeating "that crook" over and over, thirteen times in total. Over that, Max II repeated "that cad" twelve times. The Erasers were singing "Expiration date! Here comes your expiration date! Deal with your expiration date!" and then they pointed to Fang and said, "You're our bait!" Over all of that, Fang belted "my heart" eleven times, and I was saying "my dad."

It abruptly stopped. "So, what are you going to do?" Fang challenged the four Erasers who were wrestling to keep him contained. "Make my expiration date _appear?_"

The four Erasers exchanged a look, clearing sharing a secret joke. "Perhaps it's better for us to… 'show' you," one suggested.

Fang looked up at the staircase, and a look of understanding dawned on his face. At the completely wrong time, I was suddenly aware of how handsome he was. His face was blank, but I knew that he was thinking. "Wait a minute," he said. "You're just going to throw me off this building… and call it my 'expiration date?'"

"That's one interpretation," one of the Erasers cackled.

"Why did I listen to my heart?" Fang cried in a singing voice, looking to me. "I heard its call and made this revolution start… so let the throng take up my song, let Jeb realize that he is wrong! Why did I listen to my heart?"

Listen to his heart? Did that mean… I struggled to put things together in my head. When he kissed me, following his heart, it made… something open up in his… genes, open up? A bad part? My eyebrows furrowed. I'd ask him… if we survived. Which we would. I'd kick butt.

"Why did I listen to my heart? I heard its call and made this revolution start," Fang repeated, "so let the throng take up my song, make Jeb realize that he is wrong!"

"There's no trial or jury," the Erasers sang as they walked Fang up the stairs. It was a long way up, and his wings were bound to his back. Panic slid up my throat and a scream built up, though I didn't let it go. I struggled against my shackles, writhing in the chair I was on. "Nothing to discuss… now the law is speaking through us."

All of us sang, "Why did he listen to that?" while Fang sang, "Why did I listen to my?"

"Cad?" Max II finished.

"Dad?" I shouted out, fearing that Fang would be injured.

"Bad?" the Erasers and Ari wondered.

"Why did he/I listen to that/my—"

"Heaaaaaaaaaaaaart!" Fang finished, and his note slid down as he fell from the sky. The scream I'd saved up bounded out of my throat, disorientation meeting my head. Fang was going to die. I was going to be alone, only a first command with no second. Fang ceasing to exist was enough to make me die.

Tears streamed down my cheeks as the Erasers picked the entire chair up and carried me into a smaller room. But none of it mattered; if Fang was dead, I didn't need to survive.

**A/N:** WOW, ahah this was horrible. Sorry, but I felt like I should update. I pretty much switched to Twilight fandom ): But I'll still update this. I'm not sure about Sticks and Stones, but I'll try to.

Graci, review. The next chapter is all written, I just gotta types it up. (:


	17. Snuff That Girl

**Snuff That Girl**_  
Erasers_

There was really no way I could've seen it coming – one minute I was tied up, crying about Fang, who'd just been thrown off a building to his death – and then three Erasers had grabbed me, ran with me, and thrown me into a room. There, two more Erasers picked me up and tossed me into a chair, tying me up again. They were grinning, morphing back into their human forms. Their clothes were dirty and ragged. Half were females, who were laughing evilly, and the males were looking at me hungrily.

I pushed all my feelings aside about Fang – I would deal with that later. It wasn't necessary that he was dead. He could've survived, somehow. He was Fang. False hope sprouted in my heart and I felt better.

One Eraser was lecturing the others. "Whaddya think they talk about in those quorums – how _good _we are?! So listen up, now! Any second, the other mutants, or Jeb, or _someone_, is gonna bust in here and bust us up like a bunch of overripe cantaloupes! So, I say as long as our juice has gotta spill – all over this floor, here – her juice has gotta spill, too! Batchedler juice! Then we'll see who's better than who!"

He stepped away from me, as I was now gagged and tied up. Then, ha, oh _then_, he did something I'd been seeing too much more – song and dance. Yes. He started _dancing. _It almost scared me, but it wasn't like I could've responded or shown that.

"Look at her there, all bound up, gagged and tied, with her head full of hair and her heart full of pride! Well, boys, I've had enough of each arrogant curl – bing, bang, boom! Let's get tough, playin' rough, snuff that girl!"

There was a giddy, demonic chuckle trough the group. A small girl, maybe Gazzy's age, already an Eraser, said, "'_Snuff that girl?!_' But killing people is _wrong!_" She threw her head back and roared with laughter.

"Then why does it _feel _so _right?_" one of the older Eraser women asked. Then she was singing as well. "Look at us here, in a hole, on the lam. With our hearts full of fear – what a rip! What a sham! You know, Jeb will be here bustin' heads mighty quick – !"

The first guy came in, "But we'll beat them to the punch if we snuff out that chick!"

The woman stood beside him. "We tried doin' what we should!"

"Wasn't glad!" he finished.

"Then we learned that feelin' good – "

"Means doin' bad!"

Then the two of them were dancing, singing together. "Nuts, they fall close, so they say, to the tree. Looky here, here's an acorn from Batch'dler, I see. I say, she is the nut, and of course, we're the squirrel! She is what we saved for winter, so let's snuff that girl!"

"Bing!" the man shouted.

"Bing!" another guy repeated from the crowd.

"Bing bang!" the woman shouted, and she was echoed as well:

"A-bing bang boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Yeeeeaaaah!"

"Okay, now, snuff!"

"Snuff the girl!"

"Yeeeaaaaah!"

"Snuff the girl!"

"Snuf her!"

"Oh yeah, now, go!"

"Snuff the girl!"

"Yeah!"

"Snuff the girl!"

"Yeah, snuff the girl!" They all shouted, and then began to sing again. "This is the end, roll the dice, place your bets! In this miserable world, that's as good as it gets! So now, let's live it up, eat the oyster _and _the pearl, and let's get this party jumpin' – "

They paused for a moment, and everyone continued pandemonium; singing and leaping, flipping, jumping all around me.

"Really get it pumpin', get this party jumpin', yeah, let's snuff that – "

There was an insane drum solo from nowhere, and all around me, Erasers cartwheeled and flipped in, landing in poses around me. "Snuff that girl!"

* * *

Sorry it's been SOO LOOONG. I've been insanely busy. I just found these and wanted to update :D If anybody wants any of these songs, email me and I'll email ya back. Or just PM me.


End file.
